


Just Tell

by cantdrinkmilk



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan, The Heroes of Olympus - Rick Riordan
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-24
Updated: 2016-08-24
Packaged: 2018-08-10 20:53:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,227
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7860706
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cantdrinkmilk/pseuds/cantdrinkmilk
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Will’s cabin tries to help him ask Nico out, all while singing Gay or European. Will’s not so sure about their ideas but goes for it anyways.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Just Tell

      “Gay or European, so many shades of greeey--” 

       Will Solace rubbed his forehead with exasperation. The problem with living in Cabin 7 is that all your siblings were, to some level, great at music. That song in particular had been sung nonstop ever since he’d told his brothers and sisters weeks ago during a late-night full-cabin conversation that he had a huge crush on Nico di Angelo. He loved his cabin, of course; they were the best siblings he could’ve asked for. But their way of dealing with their counselor’s crush was... a bit chaotic.

      “Guys, please--” He started, before being interrupted by a knock on the door. “Hurry up, Will!” came a voice from the other side, and the singing immediately stopped. Will’s heart did a flip-flop in his chest. Just hearing Nico’s voice made him feel butterflies in his tummy, what with that cute little Italian accent. Instead of saying ‘Will,’ he pronounced it ‘Weel,’ a fact the healer could  _ not _ get over. 

       “Coming, Nico!” He burst out of the cabin door, nearly slamming right into the son of Hades. Nico gave him a signature scowl. 

     “You’re late. You said you were going to help me with archery at 9:30. It’s now 9:45.” 

      “Sorry, um…” Will turned and glared at a sheepish looking group of Apollo kids, “My siblings were being a bit,  _ errr _ , problematic. All good now, guys?” They nodded, though one whispered something about a kilt and a purse. Will hoped to the gods that this Legally Blonde phase would be finished soon.

     The two teenagers headed off to the archery fields together. Will and Nico had become very close since the battle with Gaea-- Will had kept Nico in the infirmary to rest and heal, where he had started probing the ghost king. What was he like, beneath the constant frowning and icy silence? Over the course of many weeks of spending time and getting to know him, Will got his answer: a deeply insecure, shy, traumatized kid who had never been given the opportunity to enjoy the slightly normal life most demigods, like Will were given. As Nico opened up more, Will longed to be able to help him. His healing powers could handle any cut or bruise, and even repair severed limbs with barely a scar, but he couldn’t take away horrific memories of Tartarus or being trapped by giants in a jar with no air. He couldn’t bring back Bianca or Nico’s mother. He couldn’t make Hades be a proper father to his aching son. There were some wounds not even a son of Apollo can heal with magic, and Will set to the task of instead using kind words and good memories to patch up Nico’s hurt heart. 

      It wasn’t just that Will had a crush on Nico. It was certainly part of the reason that Will wanted to be close to him; the Cabin 7 counselor would be lying if he said that weren’t true. But he also desperately wanted to see Nico with a happy ending, whether he was in it or not. And  _ that _ , he figured, was true love.

      “So what’s with the sudden interest in archery?” Will poked Nico’s cheek, purposely being annoying. “Until yesterday, you never cared if you could shoot an arrow straight, since you’ve got that sword of yours. And suddenly, you’re asking for lessons. What gives?” 

     Nico puffed out his cheeks in retaliation to the poking. (Will internally squealed.) “I thought it’d be good to have experience in long-distance weaponry.” 

       “Oh, you’re sure it’s not just to spend more time with me?” The healer teased. Before Nico could answer, there was an ungodly squawk, and Ella the harpy came careening down from the sky. The chicken girl was fragile, and unfortunately had the tendency to do what the campers called ‘doing an Icarus’-- she’d fly too high, get tired, and her wings would fail her. Thankfully, Tyson was never far from her side, and he patiently stood with arms outstretched for her to safely fall into. 

        Nico gave a rare, short laugh as they watched a massive Cyclops cuddling a teensy harpy to his chest. “Not so high next time, Ella,” Tyson cooed, gently rubbing her back and wiping tears off her pale face. 

      “Talk about weird couples, man. Really cute, though,” Will remarked as they continued on their way to the archery field. How did a young, chubby Cyclops have more courage to ask out his crush than he, Will, counselor of the Apollo cabin? 

       Archery lessons passed without incident, aside from Nico nearly shooting Chiron as he passed by. (Emphasis on  _ ‘nearly _ .’) It was fairly clear that Nico was not meant to be an archer, but the odd thing was that he didn’t seem to care much about his archery. Most of the camp sucked at archery, which Will could attest to after watching Percy Jackson shoot a tree 50 feet away from his target, an act of pure ridiculousness that he nearly applauded. But Percy was trying (albeit due to Annabeth telling him he had better learn) and Nico… wasn’t. He lazily followed Will’s instruction, but had no vigor or determination as to actually mastering the weapon, which was weird seeing as he had requested these lessons. 

        Will brought it up with his cabin at dinner. They lowered their heads and whispered in hushed tones-- sneaky enough to make the other cabins worry they were up to something, but careful to make sure Nico didn’t suspect it had anything to do with him. Each time the son of Hades looked over from his own cabin, one of them would loudly exclaim something like “What a funny joke!” Will personally thought they all looked ridiculous, but didn’t know how to better cover the conversation.

       “He asked for lessons but barely tried? That’s weird, dude,” Austin leaned in, chewing on his lip in thought. 

       Kayla loudly chewed her bubblegum. “You could, like, ask him? Like any normal person would do? Crush or not, it’s fair to be a bit annoyed that you’re setting aside time to help someone and they don’t show any effort.” 

       “But I’m not annoyed!” Will accidentally rose his voice, and nervously looked at Nico. The Italian was watching him with a raised eyebrow. Will offered him a shrug and big smile, before turning back to his siblings and returning to whispering. “I’m not annoyed. I’m just confused. I can’t read what he’s thinking.” 

        “Then ask him,” Kayla rolled her eyes, blowing another pink bubble with her gum. 

        “I-I… I dunno. I’m afraid it’d be awkward,” Will shrugged hopelessly, “Let’s just have one of our meetings tonight, okay?” Since the announcement of his crush, Apollo cabin often had 11:30pm meetings to discuss ways Will could confess. Kayla rolled her eyes once more, popping the new bubble. The rest of the cabin nodded. 

        Will looked over at Nico again. Instead of eating, he seemed to be staring sadly at the big crack in the ground. Will felt a tightening in his chest. 

       He just wanted Nico to be happy.

\----------------------------------------------------------

      “Okay, so we’ve now got 15 different plans of attack,” Austin read from a notebook titled ‘TOP SECRET, DO NOT READ.’ Will personally thought that kind of header practically invited people to want to read it, but Austin had already done the writing in Sharpie and it was too late. As Nico would say, ‘rest in pieces.’ 

       “They’re not plans of attack, duh. They’re plans to get Will to step up and ask Nico out already. You can just call them that. We’re not fighting the Battle of Manhattan here,” Kayla said, practically having to shout over a group of sisters singing the chorus of Gay or European. 

       “My favorite is the one where he writes a love song and surprises Nico with it,” Austin scratched his head, careful to not mess up his cornrows. “Though that might be a little blunt, since we still got no idea if he likes guys or girls. It’s not even a fifty-fifty chance, is it? Does anyone have any statistics here?” 

      “What’re you even talking about--” Kayla groaned, snatching the notebook from him. Will couldn’t help but laugh. Austin and Kayla were two of his favorite siblings. 

        She flipped through the pages, snorting at ‘bake a massive cake, pop out of it, and confess your love’ and ‘ask Grover to have the nymphs be cheerleaders and they perform some cheer about Will wanting to make out with Nico.’ 

       “The only sane idea any of you have had is writing him anonymous notes and watching his response from far away. But even  _ that’s _ stupid. Just tell him. It’s probably the most stressful way to do it, ‘cause confessing is hard, but I don’t think Nico would appreciate nymphs in cheerleader costumes or cakes or songs.” She made eye contact with Will, who shifted uncomfortably. 

      “Yeah, you’re right,” He admitted, “Nico’s kinda shy, and he hates the spotlight. He’d probably prefer something simple like us two sitting together on our own and me just telling him.” 

      “Then do that,” Kayla tossed the notebook onto the floor, pushing it away with the toe of her Converse shoes. “Find a nice spot in the woods, and tell him.” 

       “When, though?” Will leaned back against his bedframe, thinking. “I heard some satyrs found out about some young demigod girl living in the New York slums, but she keeps evading them. If they get her anytime soon, and she’s an Apollo kid, then we’ll have to train her, and that’ll take time, and as counselor, I’ll be busy, and--” 

       “Now, stupid. Go tell him now,” Kayla rolled her eyes. It was surprising her face wasn’t permanently stuck in a sarcastic expression. 

       “Now?!” The healer squeaked, his voice about an octave higher than usual. Austin winced. 

        “Yes, now. It’s late, but I’d be surprised if Nico was sleeping. Have you seen the bags that’re like, permanently under his eyes? They’re heavier than the shopping bags Drew brings back from her trips to the city, and  _ that _ is something saying. C’mon, just… Get it over with. If you wait until tomorrow, you’ll have some other BS excuse to push it off another day, and the cycle’ll continue.” 

      Will whimpered a little, but he knew Kayla was right. She usually was, blunt and sassy as she could be. He looked at Austin for support, but the musician had suddenly become interested in the menial task of putting more cork grease on his saxophone. 

        “Okay, okay,” Will sighed, standing up and raising his hands in defeat. One of his little sisters paused in her singing and cheered as he headed off into the night, praying to the gods that the security harpies wouldn’t catch him.

\----------------------------------------------------------

        The reality of the situation sunk in as he headed down the long row of cabins. He was going to confess. Confess his love to Nico di Angelo, who may or may not be straight-- or, if the situation was bad, may be homophobic. 

        The only thing that kept Will walking was the image of Nico sadly staring at the crack on the dining pavilion earlier in the day. He couldn’t bring back Nico’s lost family, but maybe he could let Nico know that, whether the ghost king reciprocated the feelings or not, he deserved to be loved. He was worthy of affection and attention, and past loneliness ought to be over. 

       Rather than security harpies, he passed by Ella and Tyson in front of the Poseidon cabin. The Cyclops seemed to have had a nightmare, and was sniffling a bit. The bird girl was perched on his shoulder, singing in some combination of chirping and ancient Greek. The song appeared to be calming Tyson, and she stroked his mussy brown hair as she sang into the night. 

        Will thought about the two of them. He’d heard from Percy about Tyson growing up homeless and rejected by his mother, and heard from Rachel that Ella was starved for years and had been number 1 on Octavian’s list of Most Wanted. Maybe a 6+ foot Cyclops and a frail harpy weren’t such a weird couple after all; they helped each other when they cried, they had each other’s backs, and they made each other happy. Love was love, whether you had one eye or two wings. Or, Will gulped, were both boys. Hopefully, Nico had the same perspective. Will nodded at Ella as he passed, not wanting to disturb the couple. She bobbed her head at him in return, still singing. 

      The healer reached Cabin 13. Usually, he was happy in this spot-- sitting with Nico on the porch, laughing over some funny joke, often one of his bad zombie puns. But now, he kind of felt like he had to vomit. Instead of knocking or calling out to Nico, he stood still for a few minutes, feeling like he’d just been injected with ice. 

        Suddenly, the door swung open. Nico wore an oversized MCR shirt and black shorts, looking mildly surprised and annoyed. “How long are you gonna stand there? You’re the worst at stealth, so I heard you coming, but you could at least knock. Geez, Will.” The usual Italian-accented ‘Weel’ only made the churning in Will’s stomach worse, but he followed his friend inside. 

       Nico sat down on his bed, looking tired. “So? What’s so important you had to come stomping over here?” 

         “I wasn’t stomping, I was just…” Will sighed. Nico would never be satisfied with his stealth skills, or lack thereof. “I have something important to tell you.” Nico raised an eyebrow, but didn’t say anything. And so, Will spoke. 

       He told Nico how he’d always watched him afar before he came to live at Camp Half-Blood. How he’d admired the Italian, how he’d found him intriguing and mysterious. And how he wanted to be his friend, and something more that he just couldn’t put his finger on. He didn’t know what drew him to Nico, but he was drawn nonetheless. And then Will talked about how brave Nico had been while fighting monsters and Romans, and how Will had noticed that Nico was very… attractive. And that he was attracted  _ to _ Nico. And how he’d wanted to be close to the ghost king, partly because he was in love and partly because he wanted Nico to be happy. Nico needed friends, being alone wasn’t healthy for him, and Will wanted to provide the happiness of companionship for him. He wanted to see Nico grin, and have it not be a rare event that he gave so much as a faint smile or laugh. 

        “Whether you like me back or not, I just wanted to come clean and let you know. If you don’t like me back, which you, um, probably don’t, then that’s okay. I don’t want it to affect our friendship at all, ‘cause you really  _ are _ my best friend. Like I said, I didn’t want to be your friend just so I could ask you out. I care about your happiness, whatever that looks like.” 

         Will finished, and took a deep gulp of air. Nico had been staring at his hands, folded in his lap, the entire time. After a pause, he spoke. 

        “In my home country, being gay is an unforgivable sin. At least, when I lived there. It’s changed, depending where you are. But in the 40s, you could be homeless for it. Kicked out of your house, I mean.” He paused again, and Will felt his heart sink in his chest. Shit. Nico was homophobic.

        “That’s why I never really told anyone. Except, oh, those two times-- but that was just-- nevermind.” 

     Will took a second to register Nico’s words. The roaring in his ears practically drowned himself out as he talked. 

         “Told anyone? Told anyone  _ what? _ Oh, oh my gods…” It slowly sunk in what Nico meant. “You’re gay, too...?” It was too good to be true. That couldn’t be what Nico had intended to mean. But the son of Hades slowly nodded, looking flushed. 

       “I was really surprised about how things were different in this time and country. But I still never really told people. After knowing you have such a horrible secret, you’re just used to--” 

       “But it’s not! It’s not horrible!” Will grabbed Nico’s hands and squeezed them. The Italian went red. “It’s not horrible, Nico. It’s amazing. Love is amazing, no matter who it’s with!” He wanted to tell Nico about Tyson and Ella and how they supported each other, and that the two of them could enjoy the same kind of relationship if they so wished. Being gay was special and wonderful, and not any less important than straight relationships. But he didn’t know how to phrase it, and he didn’t want to force Nico into dating him, so Will went quiet and waited for Nico’s response. 

        “I never thought…” The son of Hades shakily mumbled, staring intently at the floor instead of making eye contact, “That, um. That the guy I had a crush on would ever, um, like me back.” 

       A grin bloomed across Will’s face and he let out a relieved, thrilled laugh, squeezing Nico’s hands again. Nico took this as a good sign and smiled a little. 

          “I asked you for archery lessons so we could, um, spend more time together. I don’t know if you noticed, but, um, I really--” 

        “Suck at archery?” Will felt like his face was probably tomato red, judging from Nico’s own current facial color. Nico nodded. 

        “If you’d like another lesson, we could meet at the archery field tomorrow morning around 11, and practice until noon. Then maybe sneak off for lunch together in the woods? Call it a date.” Will spoke very fast, as if afraid he would be too nervous to finish the offer if he slowed down. 

        “Take out the archery part, and I’ll be interested.” 

        “Too bad, I thought your aim was definitely better by the end of today’s practice,” The healer teased, finally releasing Nico’s small hands. He stood. It was time to get back to the Apollo cabin, seeing how late it had gotten. 

        “I’ll see you tomorrow, then? How do you say good night in Italian?” 

         “Buona notte,” Nico swung his legs up onto the coffin-shaped bed, ready to sleep once Will left. 

        “Buona notte, Nico.”

\----------------------------------------------------------

       As tired as Nico was, he couldn’t sleep. A few minutes after Will had left, a massive burst of sound came from the Apollo cabin-- a singalong of that Legally Blonde song about Europeans or something. A few minutes in, half the Ares cabin ran outside, fully armed, threatening to tear down the door if they didn’t shut up. After that, there was peace, although Nico could faintly hear a birdlike voice singing into the night. 

     He curled himself into a tight ball under his blanket. Having a boyfriend wouldn’t fix all of his problems; both Will and Nico knew that. He’d been through trauma and being taken on dates wouldn’t magically make that disappear. But Nico wanted a bit of happiness, and he was allowed to be excited that his crush liked him back. Now that he was in a stable environment, surrounded by people who deeply cared about him, he felt it was an okay time to start a relationship. 

       Nico grinned.


End file.
